1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a vehicle theft prevention system which prevents theft of a vehicle by disabling a predetermined electrical component mounted in the vehicle so that the electrical component is immobilized in response to a disable command received from a center.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2002-59812, for example, discloses related art in which, when theft of a vehicle is reported to a center, a “stolen” signal is transmitted to the stolen vehicle which, when received by the vehicle, prevents the engine from being restarted.
If the engine is prevented from being restarted while the vehicle is stopped, however, it may cause inconvenience to other vehicles and the like depending on where the vehicle is stopped. For example, if the engine stops for an idling stop when the vehicle is temporarily stopped at an intersection and restart of the engine for take-off is then prohibited (i.e., the vehicle is rendered unable to run), it may cause great inconvenience to those vehicles and the like behind that vehicle that are trying to get through the intersection.